How Do We Get Middle School Students Excited About Science? Make It Hands-On

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How Do We Get Middle School Students Excited About Science? Make It Hands-On
Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift, 2019/04/15
I don't understand why parents have to send children to 'alternate schools' for this. I studied science and technology at a public school in Ontario several decades ago and had plenty of hands-on experience (though admittedly, despite my best efforts, I never blew up a chem lab). We did physics experiments, biosphere studies, industrial design - a whole host of things. And it wasn't just Activity Day stuff - we made scientific notebooks and presented our results. It's not hard to make science and technology hands-on, it doesn't require special schools, and I think it's something most students (at least, those around here) are still doing. More...